Wireless extension of broadband access

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatuses are described for extending a network through the use of access nodes. The access nodes may receive packets from user devices via wireless networks. The packets may be routed to a remote server for further network access. The access nodes may communicate with the user devices using network addresses associated with the wireless networks.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/872,717, filed Aug. 31, 2010, entitled“Wireless Extension of Broadband Access”, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein in its entirety and made part hereof.

FIELD OF ART

The features described herein generally relate to providing users withaccess to high speed data networks.

BACKGROUND

Today's high speed data connection is as important as yesteryear's dialtone. Just about every facet of life is now accessible and manageablevia such a network, such as the Internet, and its importance is onlygoing to grow over time as more and more devices become ‘smart’ andconnected.

Reaching the network requires, of course, a data connection to a serverthat is on the Internet; be it via fiber optic cable, coaxial cable,wireless, satellite, cellular, or other network. And whichever networktype is chosen for that data connection, there are invariably geographicareas that are not well covered by the network. For example, fiber opticand coaxial cable networks can only reach locations that have thoseunderground cables. Digging up earth and laying those cables is anexpensive task, and expansion of those networks is slow, so anyone whohappens to be outside of the cable network's coverage area may be out ofluck.

In many homes, local wireless access nodes (e.g., wireless “hotspots”)can be installed to help extend the reach of the network to bedrooms,basements, etc. that are not within easy reach of the home’ wiringoutlets, but those are not a perfect solution either. Wireless accessnodes often have a limited range that is only really suitable forindoor, same-premises deployment, and their decentralized nature canlead to maintenance difficulties as more and more homes deploy differentkinds of wireless equipment from different vendors.

There is, and probably always will be, a need for an improvement inexpanding network access to more and more locations.

SUMMARY

This summary is not intended to identify critical or essential featuresof the inventions claimed herein, but instead merely summarizes certainfeatures and variations thereof.

In some embodiments, a wireless network provisioning server may be usedto manage multiple wireless networks from multiple strand-mountedwireless access nodes located in multiple geographic neighborhoods. Thevarious strand-mounted nodes may establish secure tunnel links with theprovisioning server, and can use that tunnel to carry traffic to andfrom one or more consumer devices that are wirelessly connected to theaccess nodes.

The provisioning server may assign private network addresses to thevarious consumer devices, and the private addresses may be used withinthe networks managed by the server. External networks might not use theprivate addresses, and the server (or a different server) may convertbetween public and private addresses to support communications of theconsumer devices.

In some embodiments, all wireless traffic from a consumer device may befunneled through a centralized wireless network management platform,which may perform the address conversion noted above.

In some embodiments, the strand-mounted access node may include multipleradio circuits, such as separate ones for access and meshcommunications. The access radio may be used for communications betweena consumer device and the node, while the mesh radio may be used forcommunications between the nodes. The mesh radio may use the same ordifferent bandwidth protocols as that used by the access radios—in someembodiments the mesh radio may use a higher-bandwidth protocol.

A node may support multiple virtual wireless networks, and may allowdifferent wireless network connections from different consumer devices.For this purpose, a given node may broadcast multiple different wirelessnetwork identifiers, and may tag network traffic with different virtualwireless network identifiers based on the virtual network to which theconsumer device is connected.

Other details and features will also be described in the sections thatfollow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some features herein are illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system on which various features describedherein may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example process for extending the range of abroadband network.

FIG. 3 illustrates internal components of an example primary andsecondary wireless node, and associated computing devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication system in which variousfeatures herein may be implemented. The system may include, for example,one or more information distribution networks 100. The network 100 maybe any type of data or content distribution network, employing any typeor combination of communication links. For example, the network 100 maybe a wireless, fiber optic, coaxial cable and/or hybrid fiber/coax (HFC)network of cables, wires and wireless communication links, connecting acentral office 101 (e.g., a headend) and a plurality of premises 102 a-d(e.g., homes). Elements 102 a-d may also represent neighborhoods of cityblocks, streets, zones, etc., business establishments, etc. At eachpremise or neighborhood 102 a-d, there may be a network access device(e.g., coaxial cable modem, fiber termination node, wireless node,telephone network interface unit, etc.), which may communicate over thenetwork 100 with a matching device 103 at the central office 101. Thatcentral office matching device 103 may be, for example, a terminationserver (e.g., a Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification CableModem Termination Server—DOCSIS CMTS in an HFC type network).

The various premises 102 a-c may use their connection to the network 100to access each other, the central office 101, and any other servers overany other wide area network 104. The wide area network 104 may be, forexample, any network of Internet Protocol devices, a telephone network,satellite network, fiber optic network, a local WiFi network (e.g.,WiMAX), cellular telephone, etc., and may use a gateway access router105. The router 105 can be, for example, any gateway computing devicewith an interface to the WAN 104 (e.g., an Internet gateway). The WAN104 can also include local connection types, such as Ethernet, Firewire,etc.

Users at premises 102 a-c may happily use their premises' networkconnections to access the network 100, but other premises 106 a-b mightbe too far away from the network 100's wires to be connected. To extendthe network 100's reach to those premises, the system may include one ormore wireless nodes, such as primary node 107 and secondary nodes 108a-b.

The primary node 107 may be a strand-mounted wireless access node,having a network access interface similar to those at premises 102 a-c(e.g., a modem, network interface unit, etc.) to connect to the network100. Additionally, the primary node 107 may have wireless circuitry towirelessly communicate with other devices, and may allow those devicesto access the network 100 through the node 107's own network accessinterface. The wireless circuitry can include any desired wireless type,such as IEEE 802.11 or 802.16 compliant circuitry, and can be configuredto use any desired portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g.,licensed and/or unlicensed portions of the spectrum) to allow wirelessaccess to the network 100 by far away premises 106 a-b. In FIG. 1 , eachwireless node 107/108 is illustrated with a range of coverage, and theoverlapping ranges allow wireless extension of wireless networkcoverage.

The secondary nodes 108 a-b may contain similar wireless circuitry as inthe primary node 107, but may omit the wired network access interfacefor connecting to network 100. Instead of directly connecting to network100, these secondary nodes 108 a-b may wirelessly connect to the primarynode 107, and use node 107 to eventually connect to network 100. Thesecondary nodes 108 a-b may also include wireless circuitry to connectto various pieces of consumer premises equipment (CPE). Those CPEs mayconnect to the secondary node 108, which in turn may connect to theprimary node 107, which in turn may connect to the network 100, and byvirtue of these connections the CPEs can gain access to the network 100.

The primary and secondary nodes 107/108 may form a wireless meshnetwork, consolidating the wireless access so that the various wirelessaccess points 107/108 may have common characteristics (e.g., SSIDs,profile configurations, etc.) to simplify their use. The nodes withinthe mesh (e.g., 107/108) may communicate with one another so that, forexample, if the link between nodes 108 a and 107 becomes unusable due tointerference, node 108 a can transmit its data to node 108 b, and node108 b may forward it on to node 107. In some embodiments, these nodesmay support multiple wireless mesh networks, each having differentprotocols and/or identifiers (e.g., SSIDs). One mesh network may be usedto create a wireless backhaul link (e.g., a communication link that canbe used to carry signals back to a central office or other server) toconnect the nodes 107/108 to one another, while the other may be used toconnect user devices and CPEs to the nodes (107/108). For example, ahigher bandwidth wireless format may be used for the backhaul links, anda lower bandwidth format may be used for the CPE devices, since thebackhaul links will be carrying more data traffic. In some embodiments,the backhaul links may be implemented as direct point-to-point networkconnections, instead of a mesh.

To coordinate the various wireless nodes and networks, the network 100may include a wireless management platform 109 that generally managesthe various wireless networks for the various premises or neighborhoodsserviced by nodes 107/108. The platform 109 may be co-located with thecentral office 101, or it may be wired or wirelessly connected via alocal or wide area network. The platform 109 itself may include one ormore computer servers, configured to perform the various functionsdescribed herein. One server may be the wireless provisioning server110. The wireless provisioning server 110 may be responsible formanaging the allocation of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to wirelessdevices coming on the network, and for managing those networks (as willbe described below). The platform 109 may also include one or moretunneling servers 111. The tunneling servers 111 may be configured toterminate and administer secure communication tunnels or links withvarious devices on the network 100. For example, the server 111 may be aLayer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) termination server, configured toestablish an L2TP secure tunnel with the primary node 107. Any desiredtype of secure communication server can be used.

The platform 109 may also include other servers 112, which can beconfigured to assist with DHCP IP address assignments, domain namelookup operations, etc. The various servers are illustrated separatelyfor convenience, but in practice they may be combined/subdivided in anydesired manner. The description herein may generally attribute thevarious server functions to the wireless management platform 109 as awhole, but the ultimate responsibilities may be divided and shared amongthe plurality of servers.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example flow diagram for extending the broadbandaccess of network 100. The example process in FIG. 2 begins with aprimary wireless node (e.g., 107 in this example) coming online in step201. As noted above, the primary node 107 may have a direct connectionto the network 100, such as through a modem or other network interfacedevice (e.g., DOCSIS, fiber, Ethernet, etc.), and may also have wirelesscircuitry. When the primary node 107 comes online (e.g., initiallyconnected, powered on, etc.), it can establish a communication link withthe network 100, such as, in an example of an HFC-type network, byestablishing a DOCSIS connection via a matching device, such as a CMTS103. First-time modems may undergo a more detailed provisioning processwith the CMTS, which may include providing modem identificationinformation (e.g., a media access control—MAC-address), and userauthentication.

As part of coming online, the primary node 107 (or a CPE within the node107) may be assigned an Internet Protocol address by the provisioningserver 110 (which may use a DHCP server as well for this). The primarynode 107's IP address may be a private one managed by the wirelessprovisioning server 110. For example, the server 110 may, through thegateway 105, have a single public IP address that is registered withdomain name servers out on the WAN 104 (e.g., the Internet), and it canmanage (or create) a listing of private IP addresses. The private IPaddresses might not be registered on servers out on the WAN 104, butrather may be addresses that are assigned by the provisioning server 110for use within the wireless network managed by the wireless managementplatform 109.

The primary node 107 (or, a CPE within the node 107) may also establisha secure tunnel for communications with the tunneling server 111. Asnoted above, this may be any desired type of secure communications link,such as a Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) tunnel. With the tunnel inplace, the primary node 107 may securely communicate with the tunnelingserver, and the other devices of the wireless management platform.

Once the primary node 107 is up and running on the network 100, theprimary node 107 may then establish a wireless backhaul link 113 withone or more secondary wireless extension nodes 108 a-b in step 202. Thislink can be made using any desired wireless technology and any desiredwireless format. So, for example, licensed or unlicensed spectrum rangesmay be used, and formats may be, for example, IEEE 802.11 or 802.16(among others). The secondary nodes 108 a-b may use this backhaulwireless link to communicate with the primary node 107 and ultimatelyaccess the network 100. In some embodiments, the backhaul link 113 mayinclude wired portions as well.

In step 203, the various secondary nodes 108 a-b may also establishwireless mesh links 114 with one another. The mesh links 114 may be inthe same type/format/protocol as the wireless backhaul links created instep 202, and may allow any of the nodes 107/108 to communicate with oneanother as a mesh network. The mesh network permits rerouting ofsignaling in case any particular wireless link becomes unusable (e.g.,due to interference). For example, if the wireless link between nodes108 a and 107 is unusable due to interference, the nodes may use node108 b as an intermediary, passing signals to each other via node 108 b.

In step 204, once the mesh network is up and running, the variouswireless nodes 107/108 may transmit, e.g. broadcast, their wirelessnetwork identifiers (e.g., wireless SSIDs), and may begin receivingconnection requests from various pieces of customer premises equipment(CPEs, such as portable laptops, computers, display devices, mobilephones, personal data assistants, etc.). In some embodiments, the nodesmay broadcast different network identifiers to support multipledifferent types of wireless networks. For example, node 108 a maybroadcast one identifier (e.g., “Comcast_Wireless”) intended for use bycustomers of one service, and another identifier (e.g.,“Starbucks_Network”) intended for use by customers of another service,and may support the two different types of wireless networkconcurrently. Different CPEs may log in to different wireless networks,depending on their own configuration and service subscription level.

If the CPE connected to a secondary wireless node 108, then thesecondary node 108 may use the backhaul wireless connection to transmitthe connection request to the primary access node 107. The primary node107 may, in step 205, place this request onto the upstream transmissionportion of network 100, and, for example, in the secure tunnel that wasestablished with the wireless management platform 109. The primary node107 may also do this for the CPEs that have directly connected to thenode 107.

When sending the request to the wireless management platform 109, theprimary node 107 may add a network identifier to the request, so thatthe request identifies the particular wireless network to which the CPEwishes to connect. For example, the different SSIDs (“Comcast_Wireless”and “Starbucks_Network”) may correspond to different virtual networkidentifiers (e.g., a bit value of “0001” and “0010,” respectively). Therequest may also include information identifying the CPE (e.g., a mediaaccess control unique address, serial number, model number, etc.), CPEuser (e.g., a name, account number, etc.), and/or the node 107/108 towhich the CPE is connected.

In step 206, the wireless management platform 109 may receive therequest, decrypt/decode the data according to the appropriate tunnelingprotocol, and then authenticate the requesting CPE for the identifiednetwork. The authentication may involve, for example, comparing theinformation identifying the CPE, CPE's user, or wireless node 107/108with a listing of authorized CPEs, users, or nodes for the particularnetwork. For example, the platform 109 may store a list of approvedidentities for each network.

If the authentication fails, then the process may simply terminate withrespect to that requesting CPE. However, if the authentication passes,then the platform 109 may assign a private network address (e.g.,private IP address) to the requesting CPE in step 207, and transmit thatprivate address to the CPE in step 208. The private address may be anaddress that is uniquely assigned to a single device in the wirelessnetwork of the nodes 107/108, or on network 100. This unique addressneed not be globally unique on the WAN 104, and may simply be uniquewithin the network managed by platform 109. In contrast, a publicaddress would be one that is uniquely assigned to a device on the WAN104, such that messages addressed using the public address on the WAN104 would be routable to a specific end point. So, for example, a packetsent to an WAN 104 server containing a public address destination wouldbe routable to the eventual destination because the routers on the WAN104 would know which device has that public address, but a packetcontaining a private address would not, because the routers on the WAN104 (e.g., the Internet) do not associate the private address with anyspecific device.

From that point, the CPE may use its private network address tocommunicate on the wireless virtual network. Outgoing packets from theCPE can include the CPE's private network address as a sender address,and can be sent up through the tunnel to the wireless managementplatform 109. In the platform 109, an address translation server (e.g.,within DHCP server 112) may repackage the outgoing packet with adifferent sender address, and may add payload information identifyingthe actual CPE that sent the packet. The different sender address usedfor this purpose can be a public network address that is routable on theWAN 104. That public network address can be, for example, an addressassigned to a server within the management platform 109 that manageswireless communication for a particular virtual wireless network. Forexample, the “Comcast_Network” virtual wireless network may have its ownserver in the management platform 109, and that server may beresponsible for translating or tagging upstream packets with its ownpublic network address.

Incoming packets from the Internet may arrive at a virtual network'sserver using the server's public address, and the server may convert thepublic address into a private one based on additional identifyinginformation contained in the incoming packet. The server can thenprepare a new incoming packet, addressed to the CPE (or to the node107/108) by its private network, and then transmit it downstream to thenode 107/108 and CPE.

The process in FIG. 3 concludes with this communication, although stepsmay be repeated as desired for the addition of new nodes and/or CPEs,and the process may continue with the termination or signing off ofcertain CPEs or nodes.

FIG. 3 illustrates internal components of an example primary node 107and secondary node 108 a. The primary node 107 may include, at its core,one or more processors 301. The processors 301 may execute instructions,stored in a computer-readable medium such as RAM 302 and storage 303, tocause the node to perform any of the steps and features describedherein. The RAM 302 and storage 303 may be implemented using any desiredtype of computer-readable medium. For example, they can be flash, harddisks, floppy disks, optical compact disks, etc.

The primary node 107 may include a network interface device, such as amodem 304, which can be connected to the network 100. Other types ofinterfaces, such as fiber, Ethernet, WiMax, etc., may also be used.

The node 107 may also include local network input/output interfaces 305,to allow the node to connect to any additional desired type ofcommunication network. For example, the node may include an Ethernetinterface, a fire-wire (IEEE 1394) interface, Bluetooth, local wireless,etc.

The node may also include one or more user interface components 306. Theuser interface components 306 may be any desired type to allowinteraction with users. For example, keyboards, mice, touch screens,microphones, speakers, etc. can be included.

The node may also include its mesh wireless transmission/reception radiocircuitry 307. The mesh radio circuitry may be any desired type, such asIEEE 802.11 or 802.16, using licensed or unlicensed portions of theelectromagnetic spectrum. As discussed above, the mesh radio may be usedto form the point-to-point link between the primary node and one or moresecondary nodes. The node may also include access radio circuitry 308.The access radio circuitry 308 may use similar wireless protocols as themesh circuitry 307, or it may be different, and it may be used toconnect with various CPEs in the range of the node.

The secondary node 108 a, or access node, may contain many of the sametypes of elements as found in the primary node, such as one or moreprocessors, storage media, interfaces, and mesh radio circuitry. Thesecondary node may also have, however, one or more access radio circuits308. The access radio circuit 308 may contain wireless circuitry (e.g.,IEEE 802.11) to communicate with any desired customer premise equipment(CPE) within range. As discussed above, this access radio allows thoseCPEs to access the network 100 via the mesh radio 307 and modem 304 ofthe primary node 107.

Although the FIG. 3 example components are illustrated in the context ofan access node, the various servers, platforms, and other computingelements described above can be implemented using similar arrangementsof processors, memories, and network interfaces, with the processorsexecuting instructions stored on the memories to result in theperformance of any of the steps and features described herein.

The examples described above are merely that—examples. Variousmodifications can be made as desired as well, such as the additionand/or removal of elements, the combining and/or dividing of elements,and the rearranging of elements. The true scope of this patent shouldnot be limited by these examples, but rather, the scopes of each of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a firstwireless access node, from a first device, and via a first wirelessnetwork, a first packet; receiving, by the first wireless access node,from a second device, and via a second wireless network, a secondpacket; sending, to a remote server and by the first wireless accessnode, the first packet and the second packet; receiving, by the firstwireless access node and from the remote server, first information thatinstructs the first wireless access node to use a first network addressto establish communications between the first wireless access node andthe first device within the first wireless network, wherein the remoteserver manages a first list of network addresses to identify deviceswithin the first wireless network, wherein the remote server manages asecond list of network addresses to identify devices within the secondwireless network, and wherein the first network address is unique to thefirst wireless network and not globally unique; receiving, by the firstwireless access node and from the remote server, second information thatinstructs the first wireless access node to use a second network addressto establish communications between the first wireless access node andthe second device within the second wireless network, wherein the secondnetwork address is unique to the second wireless network and notglobally unique; using, by the first wireless access node, the firstnetwork address to identify the first device within the first wirelessnetwork; and using, by the first wireless access node, the secondnetwork address to identify the second device within the second wirelessnetwork.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more addresses in thefirst list are the same as one or more addresses in the second list. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises a request forthe first network address.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the firstlist of network addresses is stored by the remote server, and whereinthe second list of network addresses is stored by the remote server. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet and the second packetare sent via a second wireless access node.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the second packet is received via a second wireless access node.7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: establishing, by the firstwireless access node, a wireless mesh network comprising the firstwireless network and the second wireless network, wherein the secondwireless network comprises a second wireless access node and the secondpacket is received via the mesh network.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the wireless mesh network further comprises a third wirelessaccess node, the method further comprising: based on a connection lossbetween the first wireless access node and the second wireless accessnode, establishing a connection between the first wireless access nodeand the second wireless access node via the third wireless access node.9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network address and thesecond network address are the same.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinsending the first packet and the second packet comprises: tagging thefirst packet with a Service Set Identifier (SSID) associated with thefirst wireless network.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:using, by the first wireless access node, the first network address todistinguish, on the first wireless network, the first device from otherdevices.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first network addresscomprises a private network address, of the first wireless network,selected from the first list.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst network address is used, by the first wireless access node, toidentify the first device only within the first wireless network. 14.The method of claim 1, wherein the first list of network addresses isused, by the remote server, to assign addresses to devices connecting tothe within the first wireless network.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the first network address is an Internet Protocol (IP) addressthat uniquely identifies the first device during communications betweenthe first device and the first wireless access node.
 16. An apparatuscomprising: one or more processors; and memory storing instructionsthat, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the apparatusto: receive, from a first device and via a first wireless network, afirst packet; receive, from a second device and via a second wirelessnetwork, a second packet; send, to a remote server, the first packet andthe second packet; receive, from the remote server, first informationthat instructs the apparatus to use a first network address to establishcommunications between the apparatus and the first device within thefirst wireless network, wherein the remote server manages a first listof network addresses to identify devices within the first wirelessnetwork, wherein the remote server manages a second list of networkaddresses to identify devices within the second wireless network, andwherein the first network address is unique to the first wirelessnetwork and not globally unique; receive, from the remote server, secondinformation that instructs the apparatus to use a second network addressto establish communications between the apparatus and the second devicewithin the second wireless network, wherein the second network addressis unique to the second wireless network and not globally unique; usethe first network address to identify the first device within the firstwireless network; and use the second network address to identify thesecond device within the second wireless network.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein one or more addresses in the first list are the sameas one or more corresponding addresses in the second list.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 16, wherein the first packet comprises a request forthe first network address.
 19. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein thefirst list of network addresses is used, by the remote server, to assignaddresses to devices connecting to the within the first wirelessnetwork.
 20. A system comprising: a first wireless access node and aremote server; wherein the first wireless access node comprises: one ormore first processors; and first memory storing first instructions that,when executed by the one or more first processors, cause the firstwireless access node to: receive, from a first device and via a firstwireless network, a first packet; receive, from a second device and viaa second wireless network, a second packet; send, to the remote server,the first packet and the second packet; receive, from the remote server,first information that instructs the first wireless access node to use afirst network address to establish communications between the firstwireless access node and the first device within the first wirelessnetwork, wherein the remote server manages a first list of networkaddresses to identify devices within the first wireless network, whereinthe remote server manages a second list of network addresses to identifydevices within the second wireless network, and wherein the firstnetwork address is unique to the first wireless network and not globallyunique; receive, from the remote server, second information thatinstructs the first wireless access node to use a second network addressto establish communications between the first wireless access node andthe second device within the second wireless network, wherein the secondnetwork address is unique to the second wireless network and notglobally unique; use the first network address to identify the firstdevice within the first wireless network; and use the second networkaddress to identify the second device within the second wirelessnetwork; and wherein the remote server comprises: one or more secondprocessors; and second memory storing second instructions that, whenexecuted by the one or more second processors, cause the remote serverto: receive, from the first wireless access node, the first packet andthe second packet; and send, to the first wireless access node, thefirst information and the second information.
 21. The system of claim20, wherein one or more addresses in the first list are the same as oneor more addresses in the second list.